"Am I hallucinating?"
'No, what I'm seeing is definitely real.'
.
I don't live under a rock. In a past life, I occasionally read novels on my phone that featured that kind of element. But in that story, the protagonist was reincarnated into a video game, and as far as I know, I'm not in a video game... or am I?
'No, I'm not.'
I know that much.
.
// Loading...+Black Core System+...completed //
.
'Wow, what now?'
In the novels, the System had several functions and could even speak to the protagonists.'
And I could still remember a few of the system's functions from the novel.
I slowly realized that if I possessed a system like that, I might actually be able to get stronger and finally celebrate my 19th birthday.
"Eh hahahaha haha HAHHA!!!"
This time I won't just let them do things to me! This time I will fight back!
Now I have confidence that I won't have to suffer anymore, and I can remember a specific thing from that one novel.
.
"Status!"
.
// You are currently unable to view your status. //
// select one of the three Darkness Core abilities to unlock your status. //
.
// Select one Darkness Core abilitie: //
// ++Sword of Darkness++ //
// ++Dark Matter++ //
// ++Shadow inheritance++ //
.
"Yeah, hahaha!"
"It works! Finally!"
'oh right...'
"What do these abilities do?"
I didn't get an answer, but the display started to change. It looks like this system can't speak, but that shouldn't be a big problem. And trust me, I know what it feel like to have problemes.
Text began to appear on the display.
// ++Sword of Darkness++ allows you to summon a powerful sword that can be upgraded and grants skills, such as sword mastery, basic proficiency with all melee weapons, and the unlocking of weapon-based abilities through quests. //
// ++Dark Matter++ can be summoned and controlled by the host. Can morph into any shape at will, the state of matter can be alteredshifting from solid to viscous to liquid. powers like +inventory+ (lets you carry items) +shadow equipment+ (lets you were clothing and equipment with special effects) are added. Additional abilities can be unlocked through quests. All abilitys can be upgreaded. //
// ++Shadow inheritance++ unlocks combat experience memories from previous owners of the System upon the completion of quests. Grants +hand-to-hand combat instincts+ and +Eye of Truth+ (allows the owner to view the status of others). Abilities can be upgraded. //
// Unlock all Darkness Core abilities to unlock the Black Core. //
.
'wow, that's quite a lot of information. I'm actually pretty glad the system writes it all down instead of speaking it out. there's no way I'd be able to remember all that otherwise, hahah,'
Every option sounds good, I think I could just pick anything and it would be fine. Still, I should choose carefully.
After some time, I made a final decision.
"I choose Shadow Inheritance," I said confidently.
but nothing happened.
.
Apparently, the system can understand me, but it doesn't accepted voice commands at this moment. I don't know why that is, but I don't care either. You had to select the option on the screen.
'At least I can select something. When it didn't work at first I almost had an heart attack.'
Anyway, I decided on the third option because, as far as I know, men in Gaia can't use abilities, so the second option is already out of the race. While it sounds very powerful, it has a very obvious appearance, even if I used the Shadow Equipment, it would be bad if someone found out I was a male. Since Dark Matter doesn't give me superior instincts, strength, or weapon proficiency, I'd likely lose a fight quickly and since I'm not supposed to have any abilities, I could easily end up as a test subject.
That's also the main reason why I didn't choose the first option. Even though mastering swordsmanship is cool, it wouldn't improve my basic instincts, and I probably wouldn't be able to use the sword very often—it would draw too much attention if an underage boy were walking around with an overpowered sword.
.
.
// Shadow inheritance selected. //
.
✓ // Accept // // Cancel // X
.
✓ // Accept // // Cancel // X
.
.
.
// Shadow Inheritance accepted... abilities are transferred to the host. //
.
.
I feel a rush of energy flowing through my body. Something feels off, but I can't quite put my finger on it—only that my mind feels sharper and I have more energy than before.
Thanks to my newfound sharpness, I now also noticed a few strange glances directed at me.
'Wow, that must have been pretty embarrassing.'
.
But the people didn't pay to much attention either. Judging by my clothes and the squalid neighborhood I'm in right now, I probably look like your standard drug addict who's crawled out of his dark hole and is now shouting nonsense.
Besides, I'm used to being humiliated and embarrassed, thanks to my bullies. But none of that matters anymore, I finally have the power to change my life.
That's why I swear, here and now...
'...That I will never again let anyone belittle me without standing up for myself. No matter the situation, no matter who it is, and no matter whether I'm right or wrong. I swear that right here, right now.'
Never before in my three lives have I been as happy as I am now, and never before have I had so much confidence in myself.
"Status!"
.
.
// Status //
|—————————————————————
| Name: Jin Law |—————————————————————
| Age: 16 +18 +18
|—————————————————————
| Gender: Male
|—————————————————————
| Strength: 2/100
|—————————————————————
| Agility: 4/100
|—————————————————————
| Mana: 0/100 |————————————————————— | Combat sense: 1/100 |————————————————————— | Charm: 46/100 |————————————————————— |Skills:
| | Combat memories: Level 0
|—————————————————————
| hand-to-hand combat Instincts: Level 0
|—————————————————————
| Eye of Truth: Level 0
|–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
.
// hand-to-hand combat Instincts: level up! //
// level 0 → level 1 //
.
+ 1 strength
+ 1 agility
+ 1 Mana
+ 3 combat sense
+ 1 Charm
...
// Eyes of Truth: level up! //
// level 0 → level 1 //
...
+ 1 strength
+ 1 agility
+ 3 Mana
+ 1 combat sense
+ 1 Charm
.
.
// Status //
|—————————————————————
| Name: Jin Law |—————————————————————
| Age: 16 +18 +18
|—————————————————————
| Gender: Male
|—————————————————————
| Strength: 4/100
|—————————————————————
| Agility: 6/100
|—————————————————————
| Mana: 4/100 |————————————————————— | Combat sense: 5/100 |————————————————————— | Charm: 48/100 |————————————————————— Skills:
| | Combat memories: Level 0
|—————————————————————
| hand-to-hand combat Instincts: Level 1
|—————————————————————
| Eye of Truth: Level 1
|–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
.
.
// Hand-to-hand combat Instincts Level 1 improves your technique in hand-to-hand combat and sharpens your mind. //
.
// Eye of Truth Level 1 lets you view your target's status once per day. Only works if the target isn't to powerful. //
// Quest available to unlock ++Combat Memories++ //
____________________________________________
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Thanks for reading :D